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Chapter Seven
Lucas made his way down stairs to help with dinner. Opening the draw he took out two placemats and laid them on the table.
"Okay, where is my son and what have you done with him?" Karen questioned as Lucas collected the plates from the cupboard.
"Funny mom."
"I'm just shocked that's all, usually I have yell from the bottom of the stairs at least five times, before I have to come up and get you."
"I just thought that I would help my mom with dinner, there's nothing wrong with that is there, I mean I could just go outside."
"Take these." Karen replied handing him the cutlery, before he could leave.
Twenty minutes later Lucas was clearing the table.
"Okay, now I know something's up, tell your mother."
Lucas dropped the plates off at the sink, turning towards her he leaned against the sideboard. "It's been a strange day."
"Care to elaborate, or am I to use my skills as a parent to be enlightened?"
"I met someone…"
"Ah, now everything is becoming clear." Karen replied making her way to the kettle. "So what's she like?"
"She's smart, funny, not afraid to be herself." All of this he knew from her journal.
"I sense a but here."
"We run in different circles, if she knew who I was she wouldn't reply."
"Back up a minute, what are you talking about, reply?"
Lucas sighed, his mom was the only person he could talk to. "I left her note. I found her book the other day and I returned it to her locker, along with a note explaining how I found it."
"Honey that was sweet of you, but what makes you think she won't talk to you?"
"Mom it may have escaped your attention, but I'm a jock. At least that's how everyone sees me, I don't want Haley to see me that way, I want her to get to know the real me, without all the other crap."
"Aww." Karen replied pulling her son into a hug. "I'm glad you told me."
"Thanks mom." Pulling away he stood up tall. "Enough of this mushy stuff lets go watch a movie, I hear the Die Hard trilogy is on." Karen only laughed.
Haley lounged on her bed scanning the back of a CD case, while Lex laid across the bottom, and hung her head over the side of the bed trying to make her hair touch the floor.
"So what did you write EXACTLY?" Lex asked yet again.
Haley sighed. "I already told you, I thanked him for returning the journal, and that I was really happy to have it back, even though he did break into my locker."
Lex rubbed her hands together eagerly. "I can't wait to see what he writes back." She said excitedly.
Haley sat up. "What do you mean, what he writes back, there will be no more writing back. I thanked him, and now that's it."
"He's gonna write back."
"He won't."
"I'll bet you $5 he will." Haley paused thinking about it.
"He won't write back."
Lucas decided to walk to school the next morning, and he rang Nathan telling him he wouldn't need a ride. Nathan was beginning to think he was hiding something, they hardly ever drove to school together anymore, and they were hanging out less. These days Lucas just seemed content to walk, telling him that he was stopping by River Court on the way seen as he was up early anyway.
Lucas entered the empty hallway of Tree Hill High, looking both ways before he opened Haley's locker, placing inside the same envelope only this time with a new letter.
Brooke opened the door and was about to walk out of the ladies room when she spotted Lucas. She grabbed her mirror from her bag and checked her make up, perfect as usual. She was about to approach him when she noticed he was opening someone else's locker. She stayed hidden and waited until he left for his own locker.
"Morning gorgeous." She said snaking her hand around his shoulder.
"Brooke." Lucas jumped a little, he hoped she hadn't seen him at Haley's locker.
"You're here early."
"I needed a book from my locker."
"Really, nothing else you came in for?"
Lucas shook his head. "No, nothing else I can think of." He was beginning to become nervous.
Brooke saw an opportunity. "You didn't come in early to ask me out this Friday?" once Lucas heard this, his nervousness turned to irritation.
"Brooke, we've been through this already. I like you, I just don't like you like you. We're friends, nothing more."
She was beginning to give up on him, why did she keep putting herself out there, only for him to knock her down. Well not anymore, Lucas Scott was going to pay, and she knew exactly how.
"I know, I just wanted to see the look on your face. You fall for it every time." Lucas gave a small smile.
"I gotta go, I'll see you in class?"
"You will." Brooke replied as she watched him leave. Walking to the locker Lucas had opened before his own, Brooke smiled.
Two minutes later the janitor was opening Haley's locker.
"Thanks again, I just keep forgetting the combination." Brooke said with a laugh leaning against the locker, working her charm.
"No problem."
Once he had left, she picked up the envelope inside and opened it. Oh this was good, Lucas was going to pay. Now all she had to do was find a photocopier.
When Haley arrived at her locker that morning Lex was waiting for her.
"I thought you said you were running late so we couldn't walk together." Haley replied surprised.
"Actually the truth is, I didn't want you cheating me out of my $5. For all I know you could have hidden the letter and I would have been none the wiser. Plus my brother dropped me off on his way to work, last minute."
"I think you better get your money ready, because you are gonna owe me $5, because there is no way there is a note in there." She pointed.
"Only one way to find out."
Haley sighed, and entered her combination, opening the door. "See there is no…" Haley trailed off as she noticed the envelope. She picked it up and opened it, sure enough there was a new note inside.
"I told you, now pay up." But Haley didn't hear a word, she was too busy reading.
HaleyThere was no need to thank me, but I'm glad you returned the note. I guess you could say that I was a little worried about how you would react to the fact that I was in your locker. I know that it is meant to be private, and I respect your privacy completely, I just thought that if the same thing happened to me, I would rather have my journal returned no matter how it happened. After reading your note I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders, that someone understood the things that I was going through, about needing somewhere for my thoughts and feelings, not having someone I could tell those sorts of things to. I'm sure that we have more in common, and I would like nothing more than for us to be friends, please say that you will think about it. I hope I hear from you.
"Earth to Haley." Lex repeated, waving her hand in front of Haley's face.
"I'm sorry, what?" she replied looking up from the letter, a small smile on her face.
"Okay details, what did it say?"
"Nothing."
"Really, then why are you smiling?"
Haley placed the letter back in the envelope and into her bag. "I'm not smiling." Though saying so only made it that more impossible to stop.
The bell rang signalling the start of class, and Haley shut her locker. "Talk about saved by the bell." Lex huffed.
"Come on, I'll tell you all about it on the way to class."
Lucas sat in first period English class, at the back, as the food chain implied. He hadn't noticed before, probably because this was the first time it had happened since he found her journal, but Haley was in his class. He should have remembered, after all they ran into each other outside of the classroom, the day he first met her. She sat next to the same girl he had seen her with in the cafeteria, and they were talking quietly about something, but he couldn't hear what about.
"Lucas, Lucas." Nathan whispered loudly.
Mr Knightley looked up from the board, and Lucas and Nathan looked down at their work avoiding his gaze, they were quiet for a moment. Looking up Mr Knightely's attention was once more on the board, the coast was clear.
"Lucas." Nathan whispered again. Lucas turned his attention towards his brother.
"Yeah?"
"We're still on for tonight right?"
Lucas was confused. "Tonight?"
"Brooke's party, you know mid-week get us all ready for the game on Friday."
"I…" Lucas paused, Nathan's face dropped as he predicted what was coming, he knew he was going to make up some excuse not to go. Lucas couldn't let his brother down again.
"I need a ride, if that's cool with you?" Nathan perked up.
"Sure I'll be by at 9pm." Although he didn't show it, Lucas could tell he had just made his brother happy.
Lucas had been waiting all day to see if Haley had left him a reply, they had already thanked each other, and if Haley decided that she didn't want them to be friends then it would be the last he heard from her. That thought made him sad, he was anxious to get to the locker hoping that she had agreed to his friendship proposal, but dreading the possibility that everything would end before it even started. School had finished ten minutes ago, and he decided he would rather hang around for a few minutes and escape being seen, then chance it during the school day. He stood in front of her locker and took a deep breath, why were his palms sweating? He reached forward and opened it, picking up the envelope, as he made his way outside to sit under the shade of the trees, he didn't see Brooke hiding around the corner, thanking her lucky stars she had returned the note in time.
Privacy is important to me, that's why I keep a journal, and although you went into my locker, I know you only did it so that I would have my journal back, so as far as I'm concerned everything is fine. To be honest I didn't think that you would write back, I don't know why, but I'm glad you did, I'm beginning to look forward to finding a note that's just for me. So in answer to your question, yes I'd like us to be friends, but there is one thing about friends, they know things about each other, like their name for a start.
Lucas laughed quietly.
So friend, tell me something about yourself, something you haven't told anyone else.
Haley
Lucas read the letter again, leaning against the trunk of a tree, unable to stop smiling.
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